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Sunday, January 30, 2011

Etsy, blog browsings and my menu for the week

Last night I was bad again and busy reading blogs til 11:40.

I blame it on etsy.

That's another of my naughty things that I do.... I browse etsy and sometimes (okay, a lot of the time) buy things.

At the moment I have 4 orders on their way to me - my courage necklace, a gorgeous art print, some bags (to keep things organised in your bigger handbag) and some other necklaces - I haven't decided if I will keep those or give as gifts yet.

Anyway, so the lady I ordered the art print from wrote me a beautiful email when she was ready to ship my order. I, of course, LOVE little notes and so I was DELIGHTED.

I saved her links to browse when I had more time.

Which was yesterday.

So I happily spent a few hours getting to know her and her daughters and before I knew it, 11:40.

In my browsings (I read tons of decorating blogs to delight my senses without having to spend the $) I found the most gorgeous little French cottage - I have bookmarked the link and am busy "selling" D on the idea to go spend a week there. After all, we have our newly renewed passports and the world's our oyster. Babysitting? Well, I will have to factor in the cost of flying my mother up to help V.Go look - is that not delightful?

And now, my menu for the week.

MondayStirfried beef, veggies with leftover macaroni (made a delicious healthy version of macaroni cheese with cottage cheese and carrots - kids and D all loved it)

MethodPreheat oven to 180 degrees.Rinse chicken and place in an oven dish.I spray any casserole dishes with Spray and Cook beforehand to make washing up easier (remember I don't have a dishwasher - yes, indeed, the last person on the planet).Sprinkle the brown onion soup liberally all over the chicken pieces. If you want to get all fancy you can do both sides but I don't find it necessary.Pour the apricots with juice all over the chicken.(it looks like a mess but be patient...)Bake for about 30 - 45 mins (I think the official time is 40 minutes - my oven is very hot) - it will bubble and smell delicious.

Serve with rice and a green veggie (the green is important so it looks pretty with the orange-yellow apricots :)). I like broccoli, D likes peas. To each his own.

They will think you're a rock star and meanwhile, it's so easy. I told my sister about this recipe and now she and her hubby also think I'm a rock star :)

That makes two meals for me and D alone, otherwise 1 meal for all 4 of us plus someone gets leftovers for lunch.

Tell me how you like it if you make it.

After I hit publish, I will painstakingly plot out the rest of my meals on my spreadsheet to make sure I'm eating enough proteins and veggies every day (my downfall :))How was your weekend? Louisa and Hayley, are you all moved in?

6 comments:

Hi there. The place in France looks amazing. Please send me the website details for the bag organiser thing. Thanks. You are amazing having your meals all organised for the week. Also interested in your macaroni cheese with carrots and cottage cheese, although my kids (nor Chris) are very keen on macaroni cheese but I won't worry about that.

Yum!!!! I like that you are posting your weekly menus. The apricot chicken sounds sooo good and easy. I had a similar recipe that was the brown onion soup mix with a small jar of orange marmalade (instead of the apricots). I'm going to have to try the apricot chicken...maybe this week?? I bet diced red pepper would be good with it too.

I have not yet discovered Etsy (Thank Goodness)!I make the Apricot chicken just with the chicken pieces, soup and I use Apricot juice (about half of that big liquifruit container) which just gets sprinkled over the chicken and soup. Love it. Will try the actual apricots at some point. I made your lentil potato curry on Saturday (luckily I had the sense to print it when you first posted it - am without internet until tomorrow)and it was delish!!I am experimenting with a lot of beans and legumes. I am currently looking for something to do with chickpeas. Any ideas?

I just discovered Etsy this past Christmas. Of course I knew about it before, but the breadth of it was a real turnoff for me...until I realized what a great search engine they have...oh, and it's loads of fun to "shop" on there! :)

That apricot chicken looks great. My hubby loves apricots. I'll have to look around though, as I don't think I've ever seen canned apricots in the regular grocery store here. I wonder if peaches would work?